Adelaide faced a doubleheader against Newcastle on the weekend, securing three out of six possible points. Saturday night, the Newcastle Northstars defeated the Adelaide Adrenaline 4-3 in overtime, and on Sunday night, the Adrenaline defeated the Northstars 3-2 in the shootout.

Going to overtime in both games left fans on the edge of their seats.

Adelaide Adrenaline Joey MacDougall was happy with how the team came together, and shared, “The way the season has been going, we felt that we’ve been really close in a lot of games and just haven’t been able to close them out. (Sunday) was really good being able to finish the shootout and get the win.”

“We need the points,” continued MacDougall, “so we want to be getting the wins in regulation, but being towards the bottom and being able to do so well against the top-placed team in our division is good, and that we’re able to take points away from Newcastle.”

Reflecting on the positives of the weekend, MacDougall also highlighted some areas he’d like to see the team tighten up, “There’s a lot of positives to come from it, but we still think that we’ve got another level to go. We want to be closing out games after 60 minutes and not going into overtime.”

Adelaide player-coach Kaden Elder reflected on the positives he saw within the game, “In the (Sunday) game to play that 60 minutes is something we’ve struggled to do a lot this year so this was a big thing for us and important to focus on. The communication and positivity in the room and on the bench and on the ice could be seen in the guys no matter what the score was. Nobody was getting too high or too low, we stayed in the game and stayed in the moment.”

“The team is buying in,” Elder continued, “there were a lot of blocked shots, the guys were being physical and playing the right way.”

The weekend saw a total of 12 goals scored, all with both teams at full strength. With the penalty kill lines holding strong, MacDougall shared, “It shows the depth of our team that we can stop powerplays when we are shorthanded, but it also is a point that we need to be better on our own power play, as that’s where you really need to be getting the points when you have that advantage.”

“The majority of the time the team that wins with the special teams ends up winning the game, for us I think we have a good penalty kill and we really buy into it, and it’s something we take pride in as a team,” shared Elder.

Rylan Toth has been standing tall week in and week out for Adelaide, and MacDougall could not speak more highly of him: “It wasn’t just the weekend, but since he’s been here, he gives us the opportunity to win games every single weekend. Whether it’s 20 shots on or 40, he’s keeping us in games. As long as he keeps doing what he’s doing and standing on his head for us, we just have to get a little more creative offensively.”

Looking ahead as the season starts to close out, Adelaide flies to Newcastle on the 13th of July and plays the Sydney Bears on July 14^th. The following weekend Adrenaline take on Brisbane Lightning at home, MacDougall shared, “At this point in time in the season you need every win. You need three points every game that you play because we want to solidify ourselves in a playoff spot.”

“It’s been a little while since Adrenaline has been in the playoffs contending for the Goodall Cup, and that’s our main focus right now – game by game, period by period, shift by shift – to work as hard as we can to grind out three points from each game,” continued MacDougall, “Hopefully we get six points in the coming weekend against Northstars and the Bears, they’re not going to be easy wins, they will be hard fought games, but we need the points.”

“Our games against Brisbane,” continued MacDougall, “are going to be key. Just for where we both fall on the ladder, they’re going to be points that make or break the season. We control our destiny at the moment, so we’ve just got to work hard, and hopefully, it pays off.”

Looking ahead to the upcoming draw, Elder shared, “I think for us, the biggest thing that I want to see from the guys and myself is for being able to play the whole 60 minutes. I feel like the team is starting to buy into it a lot more, and it’s paying off. We’ve got to keep pushing and pay attention to those small details.”

On the back of the shootout win against Newcastle, Adelaide looks towards playing them again. MacDougall shared how the win helps the team: “It helps with the confidence of the whole team. With us one point above last place and they’re at the top of the division, it’s a boost for the team to realise that we’re not out of this, we’re still competitive, and we can still secure a playoff spot.”

Juggling two roles of player and coach doesn’t come easily but Elder has found the team around him have offered support and strength for Adelaide. He shared, “It’s a little different; it’s not the easiest thing in the world, but I have a lot of guys that help and support me, and there’s other guys that help run the bench for me, so it’s not just me. It’s really nice that there are other guys who are willing to step up and support the team.

Adelaide will face Newcastle on Saturday, July 13th, at Hunter Ice Skating Stadium and Sydney Bears on Sunday, July 14th, at Macquarie Ice Rink.